The Best Thing He Never Knew He Needed (20 page)

“
You did?”

“
Yes. Come with me. I’ll
show you.”

She followed him up a
spiral staircase, smelling his scent in the process. She was
getting accustomed to it, was feeling herself getting comfortable
by the smell, but she knew she had to fight the urge to become
addicted to him.

“
Here it is,” he said,
allowing her to walk into his bedroom.

“
Wow,” she said looking
around. The fireplace was identical to the one in the living room
just like he said and, in front of it, there were two elegant
chairs and a small table. She could imagine him sitting there,
having coffee with her, or better yet, chocolate-covered
strawberries.

One wall, the one that gave
the stunning view of the scenery, had floor-to-ceiling windows. His
bed was huge, bigger than a standard king-size and the intricately
carved designs of the bedposts and headboard looked like something
fit for royalty. In fact, all the furniture and décor in his place
was elegant and stylish, even down to the lamps and
rugs.

Desmond watched her look
around, wishing he hadn’t just told her that he wanted to forego
lovemaking for two weeks. He’d never let a woman step a foot inside
of his bedroom before, not even in his house, and with her here
now, in his bedroom, he had visions of her laying in the center of
his bed, waiting for him.

“
Desmond?”

“
Yes? Did you say
something?”

“
I asked if I could look
inside of your bathroom.”

“
Sure. Go right ahead.”
When he saw her take steps there, he followed her, watching her
look around in amazement. There was his-and-her sinks, a standup
shower with water jets to hit you at every angle, a Jacuzzi tub,
and walking further into the bathroom, there was another door that
opened up to a walk-in closet – a closet so big, it looked like a
bedroom. His shirts were neatly organized by color and so were his
suits. His shoes had their own wall, and she’d guess there were
about thirty pairs of dress shoes and about the same number of
sneakers and casual shoes.

“
Very neat and organized,”
Sherita said, turning around to see him, but instead of standing in
the doorway, he was immediately behind her, grabbing her into his
arms and clamping down on her lips. Moans escaped her throat while
flutters rolled down her stomach.

Desmond couldn’t fathom why
it hadn’t bothered him for her to be in his house, his space like
this. All he knew was he liked her. He stopped kissing her then
stared, watching her lick her lips.

“
Do you have anything else
you want to show me?”

His lips curved into a
wicked smile.

“
House related, Desmond,”
Sherita said, then giggled.

“
No, well unless you want
to take a peek in the guest bedrooms.”

“
I do. Show me the
way.”

After viewing the two guest
bedrooms upstairs and the two down, Desmond showed her around
outside. In the backyard, there was an in-ground pool, a hot tub,
an outdoor kitchen area with two luxury patio furniture sets and a
top-of-the-line grill.

“
You have a beautiful
home, Desmond. Just beautiful.”

“
Thank you.”

“
Don’t you get lonely out
here all by yourself, though?”

“
No. I’m not here a lot,
and when I am, I enjoy my solitude.”

So he doesn’t want
kids
. “I see. What about animals? No dogs
or cats?”

“
No. I don’t have the
patience for animals.”

“
Oh.”

“
What about you? You have
pets?”

“
No. It would just be
another mouth to feed. I’m barely able to feed myself as it is.”
She laughed.

“
What?” Desmond asked,
frowning.

“
Don’t take that
literally,” she told him. “I’m just kidding.”

He nodded, but made a
mental note to check into her finances. And he also wanted to
revamp her website. And if he recalled correctly, didn’t she need a
new laptop?

“
So what are we going to
do now?” she asked him.

“
Relax. I want to feel you
in my arms for a while. Come on.” He reached for her hand and when
they were back inside, he led her into the family room, where he
sat down in the corner of the couch, leaned back, then motioned for
her to get comfortable on top of him. She snuggled in place, then
he powered on the TV.

Sherita closed her eyes
when she felt his strong arms around her. This was the most
mesmerizing feeling she’d ever experienced. She felt Desmond’s hand
migrate to her hair.

“
My hair is probably still
wet. It’s so thick, it takes forever to get dry, well when I let it
air dry, that is.”

“
I can still play in it,
though, can’t I?”

She smiled. “Yes. You can
play in it.”

She closed her eyes,
feeling his strong fingers massage her scalp.

A few minutes later,
Desmond heard the slightest whimpers emerge from her mouth. She’d
fallen asleep.

After she’d been sleep for
roughly ten minutes, he eased up, lowered her back onto the couch,
then went down to the basement. He dug around in her purse looking
for some clue on who she banked with. When he saw her planner, he
was sure he’d find some indication there. He flipped to the present
month, July, and for Saturday, (tomorrow) she had scribbled in a
note:

Leave for Myrtle
Beach.

Myrtle Beach?
She hadn’t mentioned to him that she was leaving
this weekend. Would she actually leave without telling him? He also
saw a note:

M/D Mortgage. Call B &
C Bank for a loan if necessary.

Necessary for what?
He flipped to the planner, looking for a login
name or a password for her website and found that, too. He placed
the planner back inside of her purse, at which time he saw a flash
drive labeled,
for
website
. He took it, then left her purse
where he’d found it. He returned upstairs, grabbed his keys then
walked out of the front door.

He took out his cell phone
and called Dimitrius.

“
What’s up,
Des?”

“
Hey, Dimitrius, I need a
favor.”

“
Shoot.”

“
I need you to find a way
to pull up Sherita’s bank records for the last…let’s say three or
four months.”

“
You know who she banks
with?”

“
B & C.”

“
Okay. I’m on it,”
Dimitrius said, no questions asked, just the way Desmond wanted
it.

He jumped in his jeep,
drove to the nearest electronics store. His princess needed a
laptop.

CHAPTER 22

Sherita was working today,
sitting on the barstool behind the register at Emily’s Boutique.
She still couldn’t believe Desmond surprised her with a laptop last
night, and he’d redone her website in two hours. Two hours! She was
amazed by his talent, how organized everything was on her website,
and she couldn’t thank him enough.

She’d been smiling a lot
lately, and it was all because of him. She recalled how they’d
sipped on wine in the hot tub while they talked about their lives,
shared pleasant conversation and deep, mind-blowing
kisses.

This morning, they showered
together and Desmond had let her help him shave. After doing so, he
lifted her to the countertop where he took a deep, early-morning,
toe-curling kiss.

“
What are you smiling
about over there?” Emily asked Sherita, walking from the back
office.

“
Nothing. I was just
thinking about something.”

“
Some-
thing
or some-
one
?”

“
Some-
thing
,” Sherita said. Her smile
remained.

“
So, I haven’t heard you
complain about Desmond in a while. How are things
going?”

Sherita shrugged it off.
“Good. I’m in the basement apartment while I’m there, minding my
own business, so I’m not sure what he’s up to.”

In the basement
apartment
…

She hadn’t stayed in the
apartment in a week. Since the day Desmond told her he wanted to
know more about her, she’d been snuggled up with him, in the center
of his bed, encased in his strong arms every night, talking about
their lives and learning more about each other. It took a lot of
self-restraint on his part, she knew, but true to his word, he
hadn’t attempted to initiate lovemaking. He genuinely wanted to
know her.

“
Hey, are you still
heading to Myrtle Beach tomorrow?” Emily asked.

Sherita hadn’t mentioned
anything to Desmond about leaving since she wasn’t sure if she
wanted to leave or not. It’s not like she couldn’t use the
money.

“
Not sure yet. I need to,
though.”
My parent’s mortgage won’t pay
itself
.

Sherita looked up when she
heard the chime of the door and there was Thane, walking inside of
Emily’s Boutique. Sherita felt her heart drop to her
knees.

“
Good evening,
Sherita.”

Emily looked at Sherita and
whispered, “Umm, who is he, and why are y’all on a first-name
basis?”

“
What are you doing here,
Thane?” Sherita asked him.

Oh, so that’s Thane, the
heartbreaker
, Emily thought quietly to
herself. Her pleasant smile suddenly disappeared.

“
I came to talk some sense
into you,” he said.

“
Excuse me?”

“
Sherita, we could be so
good together, baby.”

“
First off, I’m not, nor
will I ever be, your baby. I suggest you move on with your life and
when you have visions of what you want your future to look like,
don’t include me in them. I’m done, Thane, and if you keep
bothering me, I’m getting a restraining order. This is your last
warning. Do not call me. Do not text me and do not show up to my
workplace.”

“
I think you need to leave
now,” Emily told him.

“
All right. I’m out. And
by the way, Sherita…tell your broke father to stop calling me for
money.”

Sherita closed her eyes and
shook her head.

“
He’s a jerk, Sherita.
Don’t worry about him.”

“
That’s not why I’m upset,
Emily. It’s my parents…excuse me for a moment. I need to make a
call.” Sherita stepped into the back office, dialed her mother’s
number and when she answered, she said, “Mom, did you tell Thane
where I worked?”

“
Yes. He said he wanted to
see you baby.”

“
How many times have I
told you and Dad that I don’t want him? Thane is not a part of my
life, Mom, so do not ever tell him where I work or anything about
my personal life! Do you understand?”

“
Now wait a minute,
Rita…don’t take that tone with me—”

“
I’m going to take this
tone with you because I need you to listen to me! Listen to me,
Mom! There will never be anything between me and Thane. How dare
you tell him where I worked? What’s wrong with you?” Sherita felt a
tear slide down her face. “I don’t want to do this because it’s a
huge inconvenience to me, but I’m changing my number, and I’m not
giving it to you or Dad because I’m sure it’s going to get back to
Thane.”

“
Sherita—”

“
And if either one of you
ever calls Thane again for money, you will never hear from me
again. It’s me or him. Make your choice!” Sherita ended the call,
dropped her phone on the desk and shook her head. Snatching a
Kleenex from the box on Emily’s desk, she dabbed her eyes. She
hated to talk to her mother this way, but it seemed to be the only
way for her to know she was serious. Thane would not be a part of
her life no matter what they said. Besides, she’d already given her
heart to another man – a more difficult version of Thane. That was
enough frustration to deal with all on its own. After everything
she felt for Desmond, he would never love her. He could never fully
commit himself to her. She was wasting her time, yet again, on a
man who wanted to play games with her heart. A man who wanted to
keep their relationship a secret. What was the point of dismissing
Thane if she would turn around and date another man who was much
worse?

CHAPTER 23

Sherita wasn’t home when
Desmond jumped on his motorcycle and left to go to Dante’s house,
so he hoped she remembered their deal – not to leak anything about
the state of their relationship. He didn’t want his brothers
getting the wrong idea. Settling down wasn’t for him, and he was
tired of trying to convince his brothers of that.

The men were playing an
early round of pool while Melanie and Emily prepared
dinner.

“
I’m going to go grab some
beers since Dante forgot to stock his mini fridge,” Desmond
quipped. He was walking towards the kitchen when he heard Emily
talking to Melanie.